The Son of Hades
by UK-824
Summary: Nico has had a tough life. From losing his Mom, losing his memories, his sister to fighting in two wars and being trapped by unholy forces of Evil in a place where the laws of nature don't apply. Now he deals with his biggest secret being exposed. Join Nico as he makes friends and comes to terms with his issues. HoH spoilers. First fic. Rated T for teen and some light swearing.


(**A/N. Hello all. This is my first ever Fanfic and I could not get the idea out of my head after I read the HoH. In the story, I portray Nico as Bi because, it helps my story and as far as I know Rick Riordan has not specified on if he is gay or bi. This does contain spoilers for the House of Hades so if you read this note, you have been forewarned. As I said before, this is my first Fanfic so I apologize for any mistakes, grammar or punctuation wise or even in the format. reviews are welcomed, critiques even more so. Keep in mind that there is a line between critiques and rudeness, so yeah. Without further delay, please enjoy the story.)**

Because Nico deserves closure/The son of Hades

Lying on his bed aboard the Argo 11, Nico di Angelo was doing what he did best. Sulking. He was happy of course. Percy and Annabeth had just safely (for the most part) returned from Tartarus. Ever since the incedent with Cupid, however, Nico felt more vulnerable than ever. His secret was out. Not out per say but it wasn't just his secret anymore now that Jason knew. Sure Jason would keep it and sure he said that it didn't matter but Nico was still mortified. Never before had he suffered such humiliation. As Nico continued to wallow in his own despair and self pity, he heard a knock on his door.

"Go away, Jason" Nico said immediately.

"Um… not Jason" Pipers voice replied.

"Oh. Go away Piper." Nico let out a dark chuckle at this point. The universe must really think his life is a joke. Sending a daughter of love right to his doorstep when love happens to be his biggest personal issue.

"Nico please. I just want to talk" Piper said "About what?"

"About your, um, your love problem?" Piper said, uncertain on how to phrase it.

Piper let out a small yelp as Nico opened the door and dragged her into his room, almost ripping her arm out of its socket in the process.

"Okay, ow" Piper moaned as she rubbed her shoulder.

"I'm going to go kill your boyfriend now. Be back in a sec" Nico stated as he prepared to leave.

"No wait, he didn't tell me, Nico stop!" Pier pleaded, using a little charmspeak as she did so.

Nico tensed up for a little bit as the magic hit him but eventually obeyed Piper's plea and sat down.

"How did you know?" Nico asked as he looked at the floor, unable to meet Piper's eyes.

"I sorta just figured it out on my own. Being the daughter of Aphrodite and all. Are you really, well, are you really crushing on Per-?"

"NO!" Nico declared loudly, darkening the room a little in the process. "No. I…I got over it a while ago, it's not-no."

Piper noticed how he kept stuttering and fumbling over his words and couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. She also felt angry for some reason. Angry at herself for not noticing earlier, angry at Fate for putting him through this, and angry at Nico for hating himself so much about it. Mostly, she was angry at love. Love is complicated sure, but it should never leave someone like this.

"Please, do you want to talk about it? That could help. I could help." Piper asked gently.

"There is nothing to talk about. I got over it" Nico said sternly "I'm fine"

"Nico-" Piper started but Nico continued

"Actually I've never felt better." Nico lied

"You're not-" but once aging she was interrupted

"I'm actually feeling really good, ya know?" Nico was trying to stick to his act

"Stop-" but once again Nico cut her off. Piper was starting to get very irritated at this point.

"I'm really at peace right now so there is no need to worry. Thanks for stopping by"

"Gods dammit Nico! You're not fine! Now shut up and talk to me!" Piper all but yelled at this point.

Nico was very surprised now. He had never heard piper yell liked that and when she did, it was usually backed by charmspeak. That was when Nico realized something. He wasn't talking. Piper hadn't used charmspeak on him. She was giving him the chance to not talk about it but she really wanted to help him. She was giving him a chance. Something Nico was unaccustomed to. He was about to speak but this time it was his turn to be cut off.

"Sorry for bursting out like that. I like to try and keep a lid on things usually but really Nico, will you talk to me?" Piper asked very gently.

And now she was apologizing to him. This girl is something else, Nico thought.

"Piper, I don't… this isn't something I can just talk about whenever I want. It's not easy, ya know?" Nico said after sometime.

"I get it Nico, I really do. But if you don't deal with it, it will just continue to eat you up inside. You'll keep feeling worse and worse until you eventually lose it. You don't deserve that."

_You don't deserve that_. Those words kept swirling in Nico's head as he continued to process them. He was not used to people showing such care for him. He hadn't had that in a long time. Longer than he cared to remember. What did he deserve? He was the outcast, he thought to himself. He didn't belong. He wasn't even one of the Seven. Nico didn't belong anywhere. But yet, here was someone who seemed like they wanted to help. Why did she want to help? Why did she care? Nico decided to ask.

"Why? Why do you care about this? About me?"

Piper was a little taken back. Never before had she heard the son of Hades sound so small, so defeated. He sounded more broken than Piper wanted to admit. She had gotten used to the detached way Nico was. There was usually knowledge and experience in his words when he spoke. More than any 14 year old boy should have in their lives. She started to answer Nico when she really started to think about his question. Why **did** she care? She and Nico had never really been close. Sure there was some idle chat aboard the Argo but she did that with everyone. She realized that she never really got to know Nico as well as the others onboard. She only knew of him. She heard how that when he first came to camp, he was a happy kid. Then he lost his sister a while later. She heard how he blamed Percy for it and hated him. She heard how he argued with his father to try and convince him to help in the second Titan war. She heard how he led an army of the undead with his father and tipped the scales in the favor of the Olympians. She heard how he pretty much just disappeared from time to time after that. She knew her answer.

"Because you deserve to be happy. I've heard about what you've done and about what you've lost. I heard about how you helped win the previous war, how you changed after your sister was gone, how you just came and went from camp. You're hurting, Nico. I care because I want to be your friend and I'm asking you to let me be your friend." Piper said after some moments of silence.

Nico didn't really know what to say to that. Hades, he barely even knew how to form coherent thought at this point. Piper had just told him that she wanted to be his friend, that she wants to be there for him. No one had really just come out and said that to him.

"Piper, I… I don't." Nico was still wondering how to process thought. "Thank you." That was all he was able to say for a good amount of time. "thank you, really thanks, but I don't know if I can talk about this right now."

"That's ok" was all that Piper said.

"Come again?" Nico was expecting something a little different. And when he said a little different, he meant that Piper would be pushing him and urging him to spill his guts to her. Piper smiled, seemingly aware of what he was thinking.

"I said that's ok. This is obviously hard for you. I'm not gonna force you. I'm just trying to let you know that I'm here, we're all here if and when you need us."

This girl just continued to surprise Nico.

"Piper, I don't really know what to say to that… but I will say thanks. Not many people would say what you did to me. Can I think about it?" Nico asked, unsure about quite a few things right now. Maybe this can be good for him. He just didn't know if he wanted this.

"Of course you can." Piper took that as her cue to leave the room. But then she did something neither she or Nico was expecting. As Nico got up to see Piper out of the room, she hugged him. Nico was surprised at the sudden physical contact. He was even more surprised at the fact that he hugged her back. Perhaps the thing that surprised him most was that it felt like the times Bianca had given him a cool down hug when he was upset. For a few seconds, Nico felt like he had his big sister again.

"Good night, Nico." Piper said gently

"Good night, Piper." Was his reply, just as soft.

Piper then let go and Nico was a little saddened by the receding warmth. As Piper left the room. Nico began to lay down on his bed and just slept. He slept peacefully that night for the first time in a long time.

The next morning, Nico woke up feeling oddly refreshed. He went to the bathroom and saw himself in the mirror and noticed that the bags that usually hung around his eyes and lessened a little bit. He also felt better. Less lethargic and a little more energized. He first thought was that it was the result of one of his very rare good night's sleep. Then he thought back on his conversation with Piper. He let out some of his worry last night, even if it was just a little bit, it made a noticeable difference that was not lost on Nico. He decided not to over think it for he could just ruin his rare good morning.

As he made his way to get some breakfast, he almost ran into the Argos newest crew member.

"Good morning" said the Praetor of the 12th legion.

"Morning" was his response. Maybe it was the result of last night, but Nico found himself quickly adding to his greeting. "Hey Reyna, I want to apologize for not telling you earlier that I was actually a Greek demi-god way back when."

Reyna regarded him carefully. Looking him over with hardened, obsidian eyes. Nico focused on her eyes. He always had a small fascination with the eyes he saw. To him, they truly were the windows to the soul. Nico found that like actual windows, eyes showed what a person was like but it was difficult to look beyond them and get more information on the person. He'd gotten pretty good at getting a reading on people from their eyes. As he looked into Reyna's he took note of various things he saw. He saw strength, fierceness, sturdiness. Traits typical of a Roman. What he was surprised to see, however, was a fragility that was absent from the first time they had met, a kind of pain that he shared. At that moment, his heart beat quickened for the daughter of Bellona. For what reason, he did not know.

Before he could get lost in his thoughts, Reyna's voice snapped him back to the present.

"It's fine" she said "I'm sure you had your reasons for keeping that a secret. For your sake, I hope it was a good one."

"I don't know if this qualifies as a good reason but it was at my father's request that I kept it a secret." Nico replied truthfully. After he had found Hazel, Hades had informed him of the Romans and the god's dual aspects.

"On that note, I will consider that an acceptable response, if only barely." The hint of a smile played at her lips as she said those last words. Nico found that he was staring at them for a little longer than was necessary.

As they walked, Nico found that she was also going to breakfast so they actually had small talk. They talked about trivial things such as dogs and swords. When they got to the mess hall, everyone else was already there. Percy and Annabeth were sitting together as usual. Ever since Tartarus, they has stuck together even more than before. Nico could hardly blame them. That place still brought horrible flashbacks to his mind and memories that he'd be more than happy to forget. They looked better, he remarked. The green in Percy's eyes had become lighter and closer to the vibrant state they were before falling in. Annabeth had regained some weight and was getting back some of her tan. Nico knew what they were going through. He knew that they would be ok as long as they had each other. And for some reason, that thought didn't give him them small sting in his heart that he always got when he thought about Percy and Annabeth together. He smiled a little at the thought. Apparently he was the only one who noticed his smile.

"Good morning you two." Said Piper as she sat next to Jason and Leo. Nico noticed that Piper had a smile that said that she knew something was up that no one else did. That thought somewhat unnerved him.

"Whoa, the prince of darkness is smiling, during the morning, nonetheless. Either the world is already ending or Nico is happy. Frankly I don't know which option I'm scared of more." Came from none other than Leo.

"You should be more scared of the second option, hot head. Usually when I'm happy, someone else isn't going to be for much longer." Nico replied to Leo's joke with only a half warning.

"Wow. 'Hot head'? I think Nico really is happy guys. He used a nickname for me. And a pretty good one at that. I don't know whether to be terrified or impressed." Replied Leo with mock terror.

"Why don't you settle for both and make some of those quesadillas that taste so good." Came Piper who was smiling herself. Leo muttered something about 'manipulative love daughters' and 'only using me for food' and went off to no doubt make some food. Nico and Reyna sat down next to Hazel and Frank and greeted them both. Nico couldn't help but notice how close they were sitting next to each other, practically having their bodies overlap. He was happy for his sister though. Even though she is technically older than him, he felt protective of her. Like he was the older brother she was supposed to have. Frank had earned his respect during their travels together. Nico knew that he would protect Hazel with his life and so he considered him a good ally.

"Leo was right Nico, you were smiling. What happened?" Hazel asked.

"Is me smiling such a big deal?" Nico replied, actually confused

"It's just that you don't do it that often. It's actually a little unnerving. Reminds me like a man with an idea that could get us all killed or saved." Answered Frank a little nervously.

He was still a little scared of Nico. That thought made Nico just a tiny bit happier.

"I guess I just woke up on the right side of the bed this morning." Said Nico, shrugging as he did so.

Percy looked at Nico carefully. Something was different about him. He looked the same but the bags under his eyes seemed to recede the tiniest bit and he looked like he had more energy. Percy knew that he was still recovering from Tartarus but he couldn't help but look at him and think about the little boy he was when he first came to camp. Nico looked genuinely happier. His posture was more relaxed, his dark eyes were just a shade lighter and he was conversing more with other people. He didn't fail to notice how he when kept looking at Piper, his eyes would get even lighter and the ghost of a smile played at his lips. He didn't know what was going on between them but he would let Nico tell him on his own time if he wanted. He would let Nico tell them when he was ready.

After a surprisingly good and full breakfast that Nico actually enjoyed, he decided to get some air. He was out on the deck for a solid hour before anyone came out.

"Hey, Nico." He turned around to find Jason coming towards him.

"Hello." Nico couldn't help but be a bit frosty with the son of the sky. Ever since that incident in Croatia he had harbored a small fear that Jason would let his secret out. That was even more amplified when he thought that Jason had told Piper when she talked to him. He really should apologize to her for trying to kill her boyfriend.

"So what's up with you and Piper?" Jason asked, out of the blue. Nico nearly fell over.

"Excuse me?" was all he could say.

"You and Piper" Jason repeated. "You two have been sharing glances all morning."

"Are you accusing me of something, Jason?" Nico asked defensively. Had Piper told him about their talk last night? That couldn't have been it. If that was the case, he would have said something about it. Wait a second. Was Jason? Did he think..?

"Do you think I have a crush on Piper?" Nico asked incredulously

"What? Pssshh. What? No, no, no" Jason denied as his voice raised an octave. Nico raised an eyebrow. "Ok maybe a little. And I'm not accusing, I'm asking. Do you?" Jason asked.

Nico had to stifle a chuckle at this point. Big bad Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, prince of the sky, former Praetor of the 12th legion was paranoid that he had competition for a girl that was already head over heels for him. Nico had to admit that with his face all scrunched up and worried, Jason looked kinda cute.

"Heh. No, Jason I do not have a crush on Piper." Nico couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the situation as he said that. Jason visibly relaxed after he said that.

"I knew that." 'Lies' Nico thought." But if that's not it, can I ask what was with those looks you two were sending each other? Cause that definitely happened." Jason asked with genuine curiosity.

Nico wanted to deny that he wasn't sending or receiving any looks from Piper but he couldn't. Thru ought breakfast they were having a sort of conversation with their eyes. Piper was just checking on Nico, seeing if he was okay. He kinda didn't want to tell Jason, he wanted to keep it his own secret. Nico knew he couldn't do that though. Jason had been supportive of him, even keeping his secret from everyone else. Granted Piper found out by herself, but it's the thought that counts right? He deserved to know.

"Yeah there was glancing between Piper and I but it wasn't what you thought. Last night Piper came by my room to talk. She figured out my secret- no I'm not blaming you" Nico quickly added when he saw that Jason was about to say that he didn't tell anyone. "She figured it out on her own. Something with being the daughter of love and all that. She came by and that's what we did. We talked. Not about everything but she told me things that I really needed to hear. She really is a great girl Jason. Keep her happy."

Jason was surprised to say the least. Not only by the fact that Piper had successfully managed to talk to Nico about his biggest secret, but by the protectiveness in Nico's voice when he was speaking about her. Jason watched as Nico turned and started to walk back inside when he stopped and regarded Jason once more.

"Also you might want to tell her 'thanks for saving my life.' Just a thought."

"Um… why?" Jason asked

"Because when she told me she knew, I might have tried to go off and kill you. She actually charmspoke me into sitting down and told me she figured it out on her own." Nico replied casually and turned to walk back inside.

"You weren't going to actually kill me, were you?" Jason asked nervously. Sometimes he forgets how dangerous Nico can be. Nico just continued to walk inside

"See you later Jason." Was all that Nico said as he walked off.

Jason wasn't so sure he liked Nico's newfound sense of humor.

As Nico walked back inside he noticed Percy waiting for him. Intrigued, he went over to the son of Poseidon.

"Hey" said Nico.

"Hey" replied Percy. A silence filled the air between the two young demi-gods. Until Percy broke it. "So what's up?" Percy asked

"Nothing much. You?" replied Nico

"Same, though I did just get back from Tartarus, ya know?" Percy tried to joke.

"Yeah I do know. Was it as fun for you as it was for me?" Nico tried to add to his joke.

"I bet. You fight tons of monsters that wouldn't die?" Percy joked

"Yep. You drink fire water to keep alive?" Nico said

"Oh yeah, that was a good one." And just like that the silence was back. Shockingly, it gave way to laughter. Both dark haired teens suddenly broke down laughing. They could have been laughing for seconds or hours, they didn't know. They just kept laughing.

"Why are we laughing?" Percy chocked out through chuckles

"I don't know. Maybe we finally went insane?" Nico offered, trying, and failing, to suppress his own laughter.

Eventually they stopped laughing, finding that only six minutes had gone by. Nico decided to ask a question that had been on his mind for the past ten.

"Where's Annabeth?" he asked

"She's in our room, sleeping." He answered.

"'_Our room'_ huh?" Nico asked, taking note of Percy's maybe not so accidental slip of the tongue. Again Nico expected his heart to pull at those words, but was surprised to find that it didn't. Nico didn't know whether to be happy or sad about that.

"Yeah…our room." Percy just kinda let that sit in the air.

"How is she doing?" Nico asked, concern falling into his words.

"She's pretty shaken up, we both are. I guess you know what I'm talking about though."

"Yeah I do. It was beyond horrible down there. But she'll get through this. You both will. I'm sure of it." Nico replied, fully confident in his words.

"How can you be so sure?" Percy asked. Nico could see that Percy's eyes had changed again. They were now a deep, murky, swamp-like green. He could practically see the worry wash over Percy. Nico knew he needed to say something before Percy just got worse.

"Because it's you two. It's Percy and Annabeth. You two have done so much together and have been thru so much together, that it's made you both strong enough to survive almost anything that gets thrown in your way. And now, you've even survived Tartarus. If you can survive that, you can make it thru the aftermath. You two care about each other so much. You two make each other stronger." Nico hardly knew where the words came from but he was glad that he said them. Percy seemed to take those words to heart. His eyes became brighter and more focused.

"Wow. That has to be the most touching yet subtlety romantic thing you've ever said. How'd you manage to say it without puking?" Percy asked

"I guess Death has more in common with Love than I thought." Nico replied. Percy chuckled at that.

"Thanatos said almost the exact same thing in Alaska." He remarked.

"Really?" Nico asked. He saw Thanatos a couple times in the Underworld but didn't really talk to him.

"Yeah he did. Thanks for that Nico. I needed to hear that." Percy regarded Nico very carefully now. "You've changed. I don't know how or why but you're different somehow. Less detached" Percy continued.

Nico thought about that and thought about this morning. He had energy. He was a little less angry and sad. Nico was happier than normal. Had such a small talk changed Nico this much? Had he really gotten better by just acknowledging it? He decided that maybe this could be good for him.

"Yeah…yeah I guess I have. Hey Percy? I'll talk to you later ok?" Before Percy could give his answer, Nico had already rushed off to who knows where.

Nico spent the next 20 minutes trying to find Piper. Nico tried her room first but she wasn't there. He decided to try the mess hall but all he found was Leo. Not exactly the demi-god he wanted to see.

"Hey, have you seen your step-sister?" Nico asked.

"Step-sister?" Came Leo's confused response

"Piper" Nico cleared up.

"How is Piper my step-sister?" Leo replied, still confused.

"Your dad is married to her mom." Was Nico's answer. Leo's face was akin to that of a confused otter until an elfish grin appeared on his face.

"Huh. Well howsabout that. Never really thought about it like that. That's pretty cool. Ha." Apparently the news made Leo happy.

"Yeah, ya learn something new every day. Have you seen her?" Nico asked a bit impatient.

"Yeah. Your sister and my sister went above deck to train about 15 minutes ago. I think Jason might have gone up to oversee it." Leo replied

"Thanks Leo."

As he headed up to the deck he heard the unmistakable sound of metal clashing. He went up and saw Piper and Hazel go at it with a flurry of metal. Bronze clashed with gold as both female fighters didn't let up on each other. Nico had known that Piper had been training with Hazel but he was surprised by how quickly she was progressing. She picked up basic sparring form easily and was now starting to push Hazel legitimately. He was also impressed with the tactics Hazel was using. Knowing that she had the longer blade, she deliberately held Piper at a longer distance. It was a basic maneuver but that didn't make it any less effective. Nico continued to watch for the next few minutes as they continued to spar until Hazel disarmed Piper and held her blade to Piper's throat to signal her victory.

"Well done. Very well done. That was the longest session yet."

Nico looked around to find that Jason was indeed watching the two spar. He smiled at them proudly, clearly happy with their improvement. Nico also saw that Jason had his gladius drawn

"Now I get winner." Ah. That was why he had his sword drawn. Nico saw that Hazel had visibly flinched as Jason said that. He couldn't blame her. Jason was a superb swordsman and Hazel had just finished a match and was tired. Nico decided to spare her.

"Why don't I take her place, Jason? You'll find that I might be a better challenge than Hazel." Nico announced. Three heads turned to find Nico addressing Jason, challenge in his eyes. Hazel relaxed and mouthed a small thanks to her half-brother. Jason, however looked at Nico and met him with a look that said 'challenge accepted'.

"Are you sure about that? You still aren't completely healed yet and I am pretty good." Jason taunted.

'Confident aren't we?' Nico thought. Shadows darkened at Nico's side until they began to take shape and solidify. Nico plunged his hand into the darkness and pulled out his sword. Three feet of deadly, pitch-black Stygian Iron, darker than the blackest of nights.

"I think I'm recovered enough to knock you down a few pegs. Or are you afraid?" Nico challenged.

Unbeknownst to Nico, Jason was a little afraid. Nico had always given off this aura of fear and his sword had done the same. When combined together, Nico radiated an aura of the most primal fear. Jason felt a trickle of sweat go down the nape of his neck and was a bit confused. Sure Nico had an unsettling aura about him but it was usually very sparse and would only flare up when he was angry. He couldn't explain it but now it felt more solid, more complete. It was just _more_. What had caused Nico to be like this? It was like his power grew, like he got stronger over night. Was it his talk with Piper? Did just talking about his issues help him grow? Jason was a little frightened to think just how much more Nico would continue to progress if he really worked out his issues.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he realized that Nico was slowly approaching him, waiting for him to do the same. The two began to circle each other, waiting to find an opportunity to strike. Nico decided to take the first move and came at Jason with the silence of a shadow. Fast as lightning, Jason parried his strike and went in for one of his own. Nico blocked it with the flat of his blade and continued his assault. Black clashed against gold as the sons of the Elder Three gave each other no quarter. With each strike that was thrown and met with, Jason was bitterly regretting that he sometimes forgot how dangerous Nico could be. Remembering the time with Cupid and how he was more afraid of Nico than the god. Right now Nico had no trouble reminding Jason the danger and skill he possessed. Nico kept his guard well and Jason had difficulty finding an opening but by the looks of things, Nico was in the same boat. Sparks flew as the blades continued to clash.

"You want to play that game, huh?" Nico asked, much to Jason's confusion. It took him a while to realize that the sparks were coming from _him_. Jason was sending a small but steady stream of electricity thru his blade. Before he could comment, he saw Nico jump back and his sword glow with a ghostly light, as if the morning mist was reflecting off his sword. Jason didn't know what that meant but he had a feeling that he didn't want to find out. He upped the voltage on the electricity, hoping to end this quickly. This time Jason charged Nico. As the two swords clashed against each other, Jason instantly felt afraid. As he pulled away he felt better. He figured out what Nico was doing. He was producing fear and channeling it thru his blade, the same way Jason was doing with his electricity. Jason knew that if this kept up, he would eventually be over-taken by fear and unable to continue. He haphazardly tried a new tactic and tried to avoid Nico's sword entirely. It was fairly difficult as Jason was a pretty tall guy and now his height was being used against him. His tactic had another flaw. Since he was just dodging, he wasn't defending. Jason got nicked. It was a shallow wound but a great rush of panic overtook him. He flailed wildly and sent lightning straight at Nico. Nico got blasted back and managed to deflect most of it but some crawled up his sword arm, effectively paralyzing it. He cursed and switched arms to try and fight again. Before he could get up, he found Jason's blade at his throat. He looked up to see Jason breathing heavily, a wild panic in his eyes.

"Do you yield?" Jason asked, out of breath and the fear still in his voice.

"I yield." Nico replied.

Jason sheathed his gladius and held out his hand to him. Nico sent his sword back to his room thru the shadows and tried to meet Jason's hand with his own but couldn't as his arm was still numb. Hoping nobody saw that, he used his other arm instead. Nico was beat, so as soon as he stood up, all he wanted to do was lay back down. So that's what he did. Jason followed his example soon after.

"Holy Hera!" Jason and Nico both turned their heads to find Piper and Hazel running towards them and knelt by them.

"That was amazing! That was the greatest sword fight I have ever seen! You have got to teach me those moves, ya know, without the lightning and the ghost light stuff." Piper said in one breath, not unlike Leo would say if he got excited over something.

"Yeah guys, that was really impressive. Especially you Nico, even though you're still recovering, you managed to push Jason that far. And speaking of the ghost light Piper mentioned, what was that?" Hazel asked.

"It was (huff) (puff) (gasp) it was fear." Nico replied between heavy breaths.

"Fear? Like the feeling fear?" Piper asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"More like the essence of fear." Nico clarified, still trying to regulate his breathing.

"That's… sufficiently terrifying. Cool but still terrifying. Is that why Jason is kinda twitchy?"

"Yeah"

"Can you fix it?" Piper asked, concerned for her boyfriend.

"Some nectar and ambrosia should do the trick. Could you get some for me too? I kinda can't feel my arm." Nico asked, the numbness not going away.

"Sure, I'll go get some." Hazel said, getting up to go.

"How are you two feeling?" Piper asked.

"Twitchy." Jason said

"Numb." Nico replied

"Tired." Jason added

"Really tired." Nico supplied

"Super tired."

"Mega tired!"

"Ultra tired!"

"Ultimate tired!"

"Super special tir-"

"Boys! Can we please act our age?" Piper asked, clearly exasperated by their behavior.

"I am acting my age, I'm 14." Nico defended.

"Wait, weren't you in the lotus casino for like 70 years? Wouldn't that make you 84 or something?" Jason asked. His breathing started to return to normal, but it was still spastic.

"I don't know if that counts. If we follow that logic then I should be around that age too, here." Hazel said as she returned with the godly food and drink.

Both Nico and Jason took the food and instantly felt better

"That really hits the spot." Jason said. His twitching gone and his breath back to normal.

"Really does." Nico agreed groggily, still a bit drained from using his powers

"Why do you seem a bit off still?" Hazel asked

"My powers drain me more than most demi-gods. It's not as bad as it used to be though. I should be fine in a minute." He said. It was true, he had been getting better at the strain his powers took on him.

"What did they taste like?" Piper asked, out of the blue.

"Huh?" Both boys said.

"The nectar and ambrosia. What did they taste like to you guys? I know it tastes different to everyone so I'm curious." Piper asked, sheepishly

"Oh. In that case, mine tasted like the apple pie they served back at the legion." Jason answered.

"Oh yeah, that stuff was delicious." Hazel contributed, clearly remembering as well.

"And you Nico?

"The Italian shaved Ice that my mom used to give me on a really hot day." Nico replied somberly.

Piper looked at Nico warmly and smiled, trying not to make him uncomfortable knowing that he had some issues with his past. That reminded Nico why he came to find her in the first place.

"Hey Piper, can I talk to you in private, like over at the railing?" He asked

"Sure. I'll see you later then." She said to Jason and then followed Nico to the described location.

When they go to the railing, they stood there in a comfortable silence, just looking out at the ocean. Nico knew that they couldn't stay there forever and so he broke the silence.

"So I was wondering… remember what you said to me last night? About you being there for me to talk and stuff?" Nico asked, not taking his eyes off the water.

"Yeah I remember."

"Well, I was hoping that I could… that we could maybe do that tonight."

"Really? Why tonight?" Piper asked, not really sounding surprised.

"I don't want to wimp out. I want to do it before convince myself not to."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked

This time Nico tuned to look Piper in the eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Hours later, aboard the Argo, Nico was in him room. Still debating on whether to go or not. Nico knew that he was the one to ask Piper for this and he knew that if anything, she would listen at the very least.

"Dammit all!" He whispered to himself. "Can't a guy get some kind of sign for decisions like this?" Nico asked to the empty room. He could just picture it now. The two-faced god Janus patronizing him over this. Maybe he was split between his two personalities like the other gods. Then it struck him, did Janus even have another form? He never really thought about it before. A shudder suddenly passed thru him. He came to realize how he was distracting himself from this.

"Pitiful. This is pathetic… I'm being pathetic right now." Nico said to himself. Here he is, trying to distance himself from a person who not only wasn't judgmental about what he was, but was also trying to help him and he's too afraid to take it. Nico decided to man up and do this. He marched out of his room and on to Piper's. He almost barged right in the room but caught himself before he could do so. He knocked the door and waited. He didn't have to wait long until Piper opened the door. When she saw Nico at the door, a big smile spread across her face.

"Hey, Nico. I was wondering when you'd show up at my door. Come on in." she said as she spread her arm in a welcoming motion.

Nico did as he was told and came inside. He noticed that the room wasn't all that different from his own. Just a few more items than his. He supposed Leo didn't customize the individual rooms when he built the ship. He sat on the bed and Piper did the same.

"So… now what?" Nico asked. Unsure as how to continue.

"Now we talk."

"About what? How do we start something like this?" He asked nervously. He had no idea on how to talk about something like this. Piper seemed to be thinking on the same lines as him because she paused for a moment before replying.

"Why don't we start by talking about what's really troubling you. Like what you have a problem with." She said.

Nico regarded her carefully. This was his last chance. If he answered her, there would be no going back. It would be out there forever.

"I'm…I…I like…Gods dammit!" Nico couldn't help but yell a bit at the end.

"It's o.k. Nico, its o.k. I get that this isn't going to be easy but the hard things happen, it can make life easier later on."

Nico knew that Piper was right. "Yeah I know. It's just hard. let me try again." Nico braced himself. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Nico knew he had to say it. He knew sooner or later it would come out and now was a chance for it to be somewhat out and contained at the same time. He steeled his nerves and opened his mouth.

"I'm... Bi." He said it. He finally said it. He expected to feel better, to have a weight lifted off his shoulders like in movies and junk. He felt no such thing. He felt the same. Nervous and scared. He opened his eyes to look at Piper and saw her eyed widen slightly. No. Not her. She promised.

"I knew it. I knew it! You think I'm a freak! You lied! YOU SAID YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND, THAT YOU WANTED TO HELP BUT YOU THINK IM EVEN MORE OF A FREAK THAN BEFORE!" Nico screeched. Pain, fear and betrayal filled his voice. The shadows became much more intense in the room, threatening to swallow everything in their path. They we're responding to Nico's distress, becoming as wild and panicked as he was.

Piper was staring at the events before her. Her room was becoming so dark, looking like it was going to collapse into itself. But the worst part was Nico. She watched in horror and sadness as he was yelling at the top of his lungs. How he was yelling at _her_. He thought she betrayed his trust. He was there, cradling his head in his arms rocking back and forth like he was terrified, like something was going to hurt him. She didn't think he was a freak. She was just surprised at his answer. She wasn't expecting him to say that he was Bi. Actually she was expecting something different. She had to fix this.

"Nico. Nico, sweetie, calm down. I don't think you're a freak." Piper said desperately.

"LIAR! I SAW YOU, HOW YOU REACTED!" Nico shouted at her. No longer holding his head in his hands, he was looking right in her eyes. Piper was terrified. She had never been more afraid in her life than she was at that moment. Nico had hate and fear etched into his face. His eyes were blazing with a mad, black fire. Nico was tearing his way into her very soul with his glare. He saw her. Everything about her. Her hopes and all of her fears. And she felt it. She felt all of the fear and the hate. But it wasn't just hers. These weren't just her feelings. She was feeling what Nico was feeling. She realized that while he was looking into her, _she_ was looking into _him_. For the first time, she truly understood Nico Di Angelo.

"Nico, calm down." She said, this time using her charmspeak. "I don't think you're a freak. I was just surprised about what you said. Calm down." She said a bit more forcefully at the end. She needed him to calm down before he drags them both into the shadows.

Nico felt the magic of her charmspeak hit him and he had to obey. In his current state, he couldn't fight back, he was quickly becoming more afraid and broken. The shadows calmed as he did and he just sat there. Piper knew this could be her best chance to fix things.

"I was just surprised. I didn't expect you to say you are Bi." Piper saw Nico flinch a little as she said it. He just sat there in silence. Not talking or moving. She started to get worried. "Nico...?" She started carefully.

"Surprised? Surprised about what? What did you expect me to say?" He asked in a horribly broken voice that she couldn't believe came from him.

"I actually thought that you were going to say that you are gay." Piper said as she would to a lost puppy. Then she fought to suppress a chuckle at the thought of saying that to a lost puppy.

Nico looked at her with a completely defeated expression but hints of surprise and a look that said 'are you kidding me?'.

"What? Why would you, how would you think that?" Nico demanded

"I just thought that because you had a thing for Percy and you never showed any interest in a girl before so… I don't know. It was just what I thought." Piper tried to explain hurriedly, feeling embarrassed and ashamed.

"What? I have had interest in girls too!" Nico proclaimed, getting some strength back into his voice. "It's just that Percy was… he was the longest one." Nico trailed off

"I'm sorry for assuming that, it didn't occur to me that you would be, well, Bi. I'm sorry" Piper said, trying to mix an apology with an explanation and utterly failing.

Nico regarded her with a guarded expression. "So you thought I was gay and you were ok with that?" Nico asked hesitantly.

"Yeah." Piper said

"And now you know that I'm…_Bi_, you're still ok with it?" Nico asked in barely more than a whisper, fearing the kind of judgment he was expecting.

"Yeah I'm ok with it. Why wouldn't I be?" Piper asked genuinely curious as to why she shouldn't be.

"Because!" Nico yelped.

"Because what?" Piper asked, almost demanded. She knew she was getting close.

"Because it's not natural! I'm not natural. I'm different, even more than others. I can never be accepted." Nico said sadly.

"And why not?!" This time Piper demanded an explanation.

"Piper you don't get it, no one does."

"Then help me to get it." Piper pleaded. Nico looked at her with the smallest glimmer of hope in those pained eyes. The markings from his earlier tirade still there.

"I'm the son of Hades." He began slowly, Piper nodding to signal her following along.

"Hades has never been accepted among the other gods. They are all wary of him, some even fear him. They keep their distance. That's why he doesn't even have a throne on Olympus, even though he is the oldest of the Big-Three. Hades is an outcast." Nico said. "And I'm his son. I'm treated to the same thing as my father. I was always looked at in fear or in mistrust. I still am. Even though I helped convince my father to bring his armies to fight in the second Titan war, I was only celebrated with the others for a few days. I was only recognized for a few days, and then like my father, I was once again the outcast, the freak son of Hades. Nobody paid any attention to me, and if they did it was out of fear so they quickly left me alone." Nico said, pain and disdain filling his voice as he spoke.

Piper was a little shocked. She always heard that Hades was kind of a creepy guy but she never expected his bad publicity to be handed down to Nico. Before she could think about it more, Nico continued.

"And that's only the first part. I was born over 70 years ago. In a time where the world was a very different place. People were more outgoing but also more guarded and judgmental at the same time. I lived that life for ten years and then I was put in the Lotus hotel after Zeus killed my mother. For more than 70 years, life passed me by while I stayed the same in mind and body with nobody to keep me company but my sister, Bianca." Nico said. An old kind of sadness and melancholy to his voice.

Piper had never heard about Nico's mother before. And to have her taken away from his when he was so young was just a horrible thought to her.

"When we exited the hotel, we had no idea that time had passed us like it did. We arrived at Westover hall and attended there for a few days before Percy, Annabeth, Thalia and Grover came to send us to camp. Bianca joined the Hunters of Artemis soon after we learned about the world of the gods being real. She left me. I was truly alone then and I didn't even know it."

Now Piper was mad. Mad at Bianca di Angelo for abandoning her little brother, then she felt guilty about being mad because she remembered that Bianca had died.

"I don't hold it against her though. Grudges are something the children of Hades suffer from. She just wanted a life where she didn't have to be a big sister all the time. She wanted to be her own person. I know she still loved me through all of that but it was still hard." Nico said with absolute conviction. He knew that Bianca loved him no matter what.

"And then Percy came and it was instant hero worship. A real life son of Poseidon right in front of me. He was easily the coolest person that I had ever seen. I fell for him the moment I met him." He said sadly.

"I knew what I was and so did Bianca. She was the only person who ever accepted me. But I was born in the 1930's and in Italy, a time and place where being what I am was a very bad thing. For more than one reason, I might add."

Piper tried to think about what he meant and then it clicked. Nico was growing up Bi in a time where that had horrible repercussions. He spent his susceptible childhood years growing up in fascist catholic Italy during the holocaust, with gay people being targeted just as much as Jews and the global attitude towards non-heterosexuality being absolutely horrendous. And he kept that mentality all throughout his time in the Lotus casino, so when he got out he didn't know that things had changed somewhat. And to have that mentality combined with being the son of someone so feared and despised could only be worse for a person. Piper just wanted to give Nico a big hug.

"Oh, Nico. I'm so sorry." She said.

"Don't be." Nico said quickly. "You have nothing to be sorry for and I don't want anyone's pity."

"You just want their understanding." Piper said. Nico nodded slowly at her.

"And that's just the beginning. Do you know what it's like, to like someone that will never return your feelings? To have feelings for someone who has already found their other half, to never even have your own feelings be addressed?" Nico asked, looking like he was going to be sick. Or cry.

Piper was going to answer but was cut off

"Of course you don't. You already found someone you love, someone who returns your feelings. You don't have to feel that pain." He said almost bitterly.

"You'll find someone too. I have no doubt about that." Piper said

"Really? Who would ever be so desperate as to be with me?" Nico said a little sarcastically.

"Don't talk about yourself like that! You're a great guy." Piper exclaimed.

"To who?" Nico asked

"To anyone lucky enough to try." Piper said so certainly that Nico believed her for a few moments.

This time Piper did give Nico a hug and he returned it albeit stiffly. It was silent and awkward for a few moments before Piper started to hear some sniffling and her shoulder started to get wet. 'Oh my gods! Nico is crying! Oh my gods, Oh my gods, Oh my gods! What do I do now?' Piper thought. She settled on patting his back as soothingly as she could.

"There, there. It'll be ok."

"Pft. 'There, there'? You're gonna use that?" Nico replied humorlessly.

"Sorry. I'm new at this whole 'comforting while hugging' thing." Piper apologized.

"Don't worry, I am too." Nico replied. They both let out a soft chuckle at that.

"How are you doing?"Piper asked

"Lousy. But this is actually a little comforting." Nico replied. Piper thought that this was her cue to let go. As she started to pull away, Nico tentatively asked "can…can we stay like this for a while please?" To say that Piper was surprised was an understatement. Here was the least social person she knew and he was asking to keep being hugged.

"Sure." And that's what they did. They hugged in comfortable silence.

Piper just sat there, holding Nico in her arms and she heard him start to cry again.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"How can you be so ok with this?" he asked

"Because it doesn't change who you are You're a good person and that's all that matters."

"But it's not-" Nico started but Piper interrupted him. She pushed herself away from him and held him from his shoulders at arm's length and stared him down.

"Listen to me Nico" Piper started in a no-nonsense but sincere voice. "First of all, I don't ever want to hear you say that you're not natural. We're demi-gods, everything about our lives are anything but natural. We are children of extremely powerful, immortal beings that to the rest of the world, are myth and legend. And as far as you being bi goes, look at the gods. They've had more than their fare share of same sex relationships, especially Zeus and Apollo, so you aren't alone in that. Finally, what you are doesn't define who you are. What you are is a son of Hades, a demi-god, bi-sexual, a powerful warrior and more. Who you are is kind person, someone who will help his friends, even if he thinks he doesn't have any, which is wrong by the way. Who you are is a strong yet somewhat anti-social friend that anyone would be lucky to have. I know I am. Anyone who thinks otherwise has their head up their _podex_. So I don't ever want to hear you say that you're not natural or that you're a freak or anything else like that, because you're not. You are Nico di Angelo and you are my friend." Piper said with such a fierce conviction, so much sincerity and honesty that Nico knew she was telling the truth. Not what she thought was the truth but a universally accepted truth. Nico felt a knot untangle in his gut and his breathing sped up for a few moments before slowing down to normal. He felt a rush of affection for Piper and he was so unaccustomed to the amount of emotion he was feeling that he leapt forward and embraced Piper in a huge bear hug. Piper, not expecting the sudden contact, let out a small squeak of surprise.

"Thank you." Said a hoarse Nico. "Thank you so much." Nico kept sobbing and repeating that to Piper.

Piper was still surprised but she kept holding onto Nico and patting him on the back as he kept sobbing. She was looking at Nico as she held him and was happy. He was talking, he was letting out his problems, he was trusting her and he was letting her help. She could literally feel the pain and anxiety roll of Nico as he cried.

A few minutes of him crying later, he finally let go of Piper.

"How do you feel?" she asked

"(sniff) A lot better actually. Who knew crying like a baby would help anything?" He quipped.

"Ha-ha. You're making jokes now? I think this really did help you. You seem less…detached." And he really did. Nico was sitting up straighter, his face seemed more relaxed and a smile was playing on his lips. He was looking healthy.

"Yeah, I think it helped a little too. I don't feel as anxious about it anymore but I'm still apprehensive on telling people." Nico said

"I'm sure they won't treat you any differently, I know Jason doesn't and you know Percy is the kinda guy that's cool with any kind of person as long as they're good. People might actually be more open with you too." Piper said

"It's not Percy or Jason that I'm worried about." Nico said

"Then who?' Piper asked.

Nico seemed to squirm in his seat a bit before answering. "My father and… Hazel. I'm worried about what they might think." Nico said in a small voice.

"Why would Hazel think any less of you?" Piper asked

"She was born and raised around the same timeframe as I was. She already has some trouble adapting to the modern world and she still has some mindset of back then. I can't have her shun me or hate me or anything like that. She's my sister, I just can't." Nico said with an expression of worry spread clear on his face.

Piper understood now. Leo told her about the incident with Narcissus and how Hazel was a little freaked out when she met him and how he was in love himself. Hazel was the only living relative Nico had anymore, a rejection from her would hurt him so much. Piper leaned forward and hugged him again. She noted that she was doing that a lot lately.

"Nico, Hazel is your sister. I've seen the way she worries about you. She cares too much about you to have this affect how she views you. You two will be fine." Piper said soothingly

"You think so?" Nico asked.

"I know so." Piper said as she let go of him. "And as for your dad, well I can't say that I know the Lord of the dead, but I think he cares about you more than you think. I mean he lets you stay in his own realm, you have a room in his palace. I don't think any other demi-god had even gotten that same offer from their godly parent." She said.

Nico never thought about it that way. He never really thought much of his father letting him stay with him. Hades just found him on the banks of the river Styx one day and told Nico to follow him. The next thing he knew, Nico was in a room in the underworld and sharing a hate-hate relationship with his step-mother. His father gave him a home. Nico started to think that maybe his father does care for him.

"Thanks Piper. For the talk, for listing, for not judging, for everything. Thank you." Nico said clearly and strongly. And he meant it. No one else had ever approached him and wanted to help him before. No one had tried to get to know him before. Nico was thankful for all that and more.

"You're welcome, Nico. Whenever you want to talk, I'm always willing to listen and I'm sure the others would say the same thing. We're all here for you." She said kindly.

"I get that now. Thanks again." Nico said as he started to get up to leave. Before he left he turned back to Piper. "And um, I also wanted to apologize for trying to kill Jason a while back. Not exactly my proudest moment." Nico said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head while he did so. Piper let out a laugh at that.

"Oh yeah. Jason mentioned something like that. I had no idea what he was doing until he told me. You weren't going to actually kill him, were you?" Piper asked

"Maybe just a little bit, I was really mad when you told me you knew." Nico replied honestly.

"How can you kill him 'just a little bit'?" Piper asked, not really sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

Nico shrugged. "My dad keeps saying he can do that but I haven't really tried it myself. I suppose I could blast him with enough fear to panic him for a life-time, but that would take a lot out of me. Maybe I could just lop off a limb or something." He replied a bit too casually for Pipers liking.

"That's very morbid, especially cause you say it so casually." Piper said

"Sorry, death and stuff doesn't really freak me out like most people. But I won't test anything out on Jason. Before I forget, about your training with Hazel. Get in close, since you have the shorter blade, if you get in close, she'll have a harder time maneuvering around that." He said

"Thanks, I've been trying to figure something out about that. I'll do that next time." She said

"But again, thanks for everything." He said again. Piper got up to see Nico out.

"You're welcome. Good night, Nico." She said as she hugged him again. This time Nico didn't hesitate before returning it.

"Good night, Piper."

By the time Nico got back to his room, he was feeling happier than he felt in a long time. However happy he was, he was as equally tired. His bed compelled him and he wasted no time in answering it's hypnotic call. The second he fell into his bed, he was out like a light. Nico realized that soon after he went to sleep, he began to dream. He groaned to himself because he really didn't want to deal with another sucky demi-god dream. He quickly figured out that this was no ordinary dream. He was in the Underworld, more specifically, outside Hades' palace. 'Strange' he thought. He started walking towards the giant structure before he felt a force calling to him. Now Nico knew better than to follow a strange force that was calling out to him but this time seemed

different. The force was familiar to him. It seemed safe. He followed the force and was surprised when it led him to the gardens of Persephone . He knew his step-mother wouldn't like him wandering in her gardens but he didn't really care at the moment. His attention was on the force. As he kept walking , he saw a dark figure in the garden. Nico realized that the figure was the force calling to him. Nico tried to summon his sword but found that he couldn't. As he got closer he saw that the figure was none other than Lord Hades himself. His back was turned and he was looking over the garden. Before Nico could do much else, his father turned and spoke.

"Nico, you're here." Hades said in a voice so soft that Nico had trouble believing it came from him. Nevertheless, Nico kneeled before his dad. "Father" he said as he addressed the lord of the Underworld.

"There is no need to kneel. Rise, my son." Hades said in the same voice as before.

Nico did as he was told and stood up. There was a silence as Nico tried to look anywhere but at his father. Then Hades did something that Nico never would have expected him to do in a thousand years. He hugged him. Well not exactly hugged him but Hades grabbed Nico's head and pulled him close against him.

"My son. I'm so sorry, _I'm so sorry_." Hades said. Nico was very, _very_ surprised.

"Um, for what exactly, father?" Nico tentatively asked.

"For everything. For not paying more attention… for letting you get captured by those, those _heathens_." Nico was a little more than shocked. Then he remembered his talk with Piper and how they talked about his father.

"Father… dad, I'm fine now, more or less." He said, trying to re-assure his father.

"That may be true but you shouldn't have been put in that position in the first place." His father's voice had a protective edge to it, one that Nico was unaware he even had. Hades let go of his son and regarded him, as if to see if his son was really as fine as he said.

"Come with me" Hades told his son.

Nico did as he was told and followed his father. They walked in uncomfortable silence, at least it felt like that to Nico. They eventually went into the palace.

"How has your recovery been going?" Hades asked.

"Uh, fine. I've been getting my strength back quicker than usual actually." Nico still didn't know how that was happening.

"Good, that's good. Although I can't say that I'm not surprised." Hades commented.

"Really? Why?" Nico asked. Hades slowed his pace to look at Nico but kept walking.

"I have been watching you since you came out of that infernal jar. I've seen everything that happened to you." He said.

Nico staggered a little as he realized what that meant. "You've seen everything?" He asked his father.

"Yes I have." He said

"So… you know." It was more of a statement than a question. Hades looked at his son and a smallest trace of a smile adorned his face.

"Nico, I have always known." He said softly, well as soft as Nico ever heard him.

"What?" Nico asked incredulously. "How? When?"

"Son, I am a god. I have existed long before man crawled out of the mud and I shall exist long after they are gone. I have watched mankind grow in life and I have seen them fail in death. Even more than that, I am you father. Though it may not seem like it, though you may not know it, I am always watching over my children. I am always watching over you. I have always watched you, even more so after you time in Tartarus. I knew you were always hesitant about what you were but I did not say anything in hope that you would come to me when you wished. After watching you with that Aphrodite child, I knew you would be in good hands. If you remember, you were pacing around your room aboard that ship before you felt a sudden coldness overtake you. That shudder you felt was me. I wanted you to take that opportunity and you did." Hades said.

Nico didn't know what to say. He just learned that his father had always been looking over him, that he knew what he was and it didn't look like it made a difference to him. "But that still doesn't explain how you're not surprised about my strength coming back." He said.

"Strength comes from within one's self." Hades explained. "A persons strength is related to their state of mind and _that_ is related to their emotions. This is multiplied exponentially for demi-gods. Have you noticed that your powers flail wildly when you're greatly upset?" Hades asked. Before Nico could say yes, Hades continued. "Yes, a demi-god's powers are tied to their emotions, to their state of mind. Why do you think that upstart Jackson is as strong as he is? He knows who he is, he trusts himself about who he is, he is comfortable with who and what he is. Since he is confident with who he is, he can control his powers with precision. However, it does help that his powers are related to _water_, a fluid enough element. Now controlling the dead, commanding darkness itself, that takes real skill and strength. Since you have always been at odds with yourself about what you are, your powers drained you more than other demi-gods. When you started to acknowledge who you are though, that's when you started to gain a better grasp at them. I saw your fight with the son of Jupiter. Very impressive, it takes some time to properly learn how to channel pure fear, yet you did it with little issue." Hades said with a hint of pride evident in his voice.

Nico was full out grinning at this point. His father was acknowledging his strength and he sounded proud of Nico. "Thank you, father."

Hades nodded, Nico supposed that was his way of saying 'you're welcome'. His father might actually have cared about him all these years but he was still didn't show typical father-like behavior. Nico didn't really care though. His father was proud of him, that's all that mattered.

"Now that you are actually accepting who you are, rather than just acknowledging it, there is no doubt in my mind that you will continue to grow stronger. Perhaps you will even learn to wield Hellfire. When that day comes, I hope you will let me instruct you on how to use it." Hades said.

"Of course. It would make me very happy to have you teach me." Nico answered him happily. He tried to be a little more formal. His talk with Hades is showing him that even though he is the Lord of the Underworld, he is also a father. And a caring one at that.

"Good." Hades was now actually, without a doubt, smiling at his son.

Nico was very happy now. He looked around and found that they were in the throne room of his father's palace. Nico was surprised, usually the walk from the gardens to the palace was easily a half hour. Had him and his father really been talking for that long? It felt more like a few minutes."I'm afraid that this is where I leave you, for now. And Nico, do not despair, your sister will still love you no matter what." Hades said, his features slightly changing for the briefest of moments when he mentioned Hazel.

"Thank you father. This has meant so much to me." Nico said. Then a thought popped into his head and he became slightly panicked. "Dad? This talk, what you said, this whole trip. Is this real? Did this actually happen, or was it just a dream?" Nico desperately wanted this to be real. It was the greatest moment he had with his father. To have it all not even be real would just crush him. As if reading his sons mind, Hades put his hand upon Nico's head and said "Of course this is a dream, Nico, but why should that mean that it is not real?" The last thing that Nico saw was his father's smile before he was enveloped in black flames and woke up in a dazed sweat.

Nico was breathing heavily and sweating when he woke up. He was still breathing hard when he remembered his dream. He knew it was real and he smiled. He looked outside and saw that it was still night. As he looked at the night sky he saw the clouds make a shape that looked suspiciously like three dog heads. Nico smiled to himself and said "Thank you, father."

Nico woke up feeling better than he had in his entire life. He took a shower, brushed his teeth and changed his clothes. After he put on his trademark aviator jacket, he left his room to get breakfast. In the halls he ran into the person he wanted to see.

"Hey, Piper." Nico said.

Piper turned around and smiled as she saw Nico catch up to her. "Hey, Nico. Good morning."

"Good morning to you too." He said happily.

"Well it looks like someone woke up on the right side of the bed today." Piper commented.

"You bet I did. The dream I had helped a lot too." Nico replied.

"Dream?" Piper asked.

"Uh-huh." Nico went on to tell her how he spoke to his father and how he accepted him for what he is. By the time he was done, Piper was all but jumping for joy.

"That's great Nico! I knew he wouldn't think less of you." She exclaimed

"Really? You did?" Nico asked skeptically.

"Well I hoped." She confessed. Nico let out a laugh at that before he turned serious.

"Hey Piper, I gotta tell you something." He told her

"What is it?" she asked

"I think I'm going to tell everyone today." He replied.

Piper eyes widened."Are you sure you want to do that? I mean I'm with you all the way on this but do you want to do it so soon?" She asked

"We're about to go to the final battle with Old Dirt Face. I might not get another chance. I don't want to put this off any longer. Like you said, these guys are my friends, they'll be ok with it. I hope." Nico added that last part a bit quick.

"Well if you're that set on it, I'll help you out anyway I can." Piper said.

Nico smiled warmly at her. "Thanks, Pipes."

The two friends made their way down to the mess hall where, to Nico's relief, everyone was already at. Piper and Nico shared a look before Nico nodded his head once. Piper got the message behind it.

"Hey everyone." Piper said loudly enough that it got everyone's attention." Nico has something to say."

"What is it?" Annabeth was the one to ask.

"Nico, are you…?" Jason asked. Nico nodded at him and he could see a small smile form on Jason's face as he did so. Nico took a deep breath as he steeled his nerves.' It's now or never' thought Nico.

"What I'm about to tell you all is something I've struggled with my whole life. And I think I've reached a point in my life where I can share this with the people I consider my friends. That would be all of you." Nico said. "What I'm trying to say is… I'm coming out of the closet." Nico said the last part so fast, he wasn't even sure he said those words.

"What was that? I don't think we all heard that." Said Annabeth.

"Right, well let me try again." He said mostly to himself. He took another breath and said "I'm coming out of the closet." This time Nico said it loud and clear. He turned to Piper to make sure and was met with her smiling so he thought he did it right this time. He turned to see the reactions on everyone else's faces. Annabeth looked like she had a suspicion confirmed and that kind of irritated Nico. Jason was sporting a smile akin to that of Pipers but not as face splitting. Reyna had her trademarked poker face on her but on closer inspection, Nico saw that she gave the curtest of nods. Percy looked like a confused fish but then his eyes went wide in realization. Nico sent him a look that said '_later_'. Leo looked like he was thinking on how to make a joke out of this and almost did until he realized the seriousness of the situation. He went back to trying to make a more appropriate joke no doubt. Coach looked like he wanted to give one of his usual rants but realized that all of them included the word 'cupcake'. He probably thought that it wasn't the best thing to say in this situation. He turned to Frank who looked like he was smiling too. Nico remarked to himself that Frank came a long way from that frail, timid and pudgy kid from when he first met him. Finally he turned to Hazel and braced himself on what he might see. He saw shock etched into every part of her body. Her fork was still in the middle of delivering a slice of French toast into her mouth. Her eyes were wide and Nico wanted to say something to her before Leo beat him to it.

"So does this mean I get the sassy gay friend that I've always wanted?" He asked, obviously trying to lighten the mood. Nico might have laughed at that if he didn't have more important things to deal with. He merely said "I'm bi-sexual, not gay." But Leo tried to do what he did best in horribly awkward situations and that was good-heartedly trying to make things better with a joke and utterly failing at it.

"So are you still sassy? Or-" He was cut off, however.

"Leo! Dude, read the room!" Jason practically hissed at him

"I'm just trying to ease the-" He was cut off yet again.

"Leo?" Piper said in a sweet voice that was obviously hiding great anger.

Leo gulped and said "Yeah Pipes?"

"Stop talking." She commanded, charmspeak not necessary in that moment

"Yes Ma'am." Leo replied, actually thankful that he was spared from talking too much.

Nico was thankful for that too because now he could focus on Hazel.

"Hazel, can I talk to you? Alone?" he asked her. She just nodded and got up to follow him.

Nico lead her to above deck.

"So… thoughts?" Nico asked, desperate for anything at this point.

"I… I just, I don't know what to say."

"Are you ok with it?" Nico asked

"I don't know. I mean, I want to be, I want to be supportive of this so much and if I think about it, there is no reason for me not to be but I still-"

"I get it." Nico cut her off.

"No, Nico I'm not-" but again Nico cut her off. This time by flicking her nose lightly. She yelped, more out of surprise than pain and saw Nico smiling at her.

"I get it, I really do. For the longest time I struggled with this, with the complications of it and I didn't think I was natural for it. It took the help of a good friend to help me see that's it's just part of who I am. I shouldn't be ashamed of it or hating myself for it and I'm not anymore. It doesn't change who I am. If anything, by accepting it, I actually feel better than I have in a long time. And it feels good to know that my friends accept me too. I'm only asking, can you too?" Nico asked, already knowing the answer.

Hazel was looking at her brother in a new light. He seemed stronger, more confident, more sure of himself than she had ever seen. She thought about it and she knew that he hadn't changed. He was still her brother. She looked at him straight in the eyes and smiled at him."You're my brother and I will always love you, no matter what. It'll take some time for me to get used to it but I promise I will."

Nico looked at her and smiled. He then embraced his sister in a hug that she wasted no time in returning.

"C'mon, let's get back to the others." Nico said. Hazel nodded and they went back, Nico having his arm around Hazel's shoulder and her hugging his waist, both children of the Underworld smiling.

"So how are you two?" Piper asked.

"We're good, we're family, we'll be fine." Hazel answered.

"Good, I'm glad. Now, Leo, is there something you'd like to say to Nico?"

Leo got up from his chair and approached Nico, he looked at him but didn't exactly meet his eyes.

"Um, yeah. I wanna say sorry for my earlier 'sassy' comment. I know it wasn't exactly appropriate and I swear I didn't mean to offend at all, seriously, I was just trying to ease the tension cause nobody was talking or doing anything at all for like, three minutes and again I wasn't trying to offend you I swear and-" Leo kept going on and on.

Nico was tempted to let Leo go on for as long as he could because he found Leo trying to apologize absolutely hilarious but he decided to save him from his discomfort.

"Leo… Leo… LEO!" He repeated because Leo wouldn't stop rambling on. He finally got Leo to stop when he yelled out his name.

"GAH!" Leo exclaimed, clearly not expecting Nico to raise his voice.

"Leo! It's ok. I know you were just trying to lighten the mood, it's fine. It was actually kind of funny, so don't worry about it." Nico assured him, slightly grinning as he remembered the quip.

"Yeah?" Leo asked

"Yeah."

"So… am I attractive to you? Like at all? Just trying to see where I stand on-"

"Conversation is over now." Nico said quickly, all traces of humor leaving his face.

"Right." Leo said, seemingly glad that he didn't have to keep talking.

The rest of the day went on without much issue. The occasional monster attack was quickly dealt with by whatever demi-god that met it. The rest of the crew didn't take Nico's coming out bad at all, in fact they were glad that he trusted them with that. The crew included Nico more and was overall getting to know him better. They didn't treat him any different though and Nico couldn't have asked for more. He really could call them all friends now, even Reyna. When night fell and everyone was headed off to their rooms, Nico noticed Percy signaling him to come over to him and Annabeth.

"Hey guys." He said as he walked over to them.

"Hey Nico." Percy said. Annabeth just nodded sleepily and tried to suppress a yawn.

"I think it's time I hit the hay. I'll see you soon, seaweed brain." She said to Percy as she kissed his cheek." Good night Nico." She said to him as she walked off.

"Night." He replied. He and Percy just sat on the couch for a while before Percy broke the silence.

"I'm sorry." Percy said

"For what?" Nico asked, confused.

"For you having a crush on me."

"So you figured it out?" He asked

"Well Annabeth did really, I had a hunch after you told everyone but I wasn't really sure. We kinda talked about it afterwards to see if we were right. Turns out we were." Percy said.

"Yeah. Look Percy, I was young, well younger, but still. I had always been Bi and I'll admit, when I found out that you were a real son of Poseidon, I instantly had a crush on you. You were like a real life superhero. After I found out about Bianca, I got bitter and angry. At everybody. I tried to tell myself I got over you but I never really did until recently. Piper cornered me and well, we talked. After that I realized that the reason that I never got over you was because I never let myself. I never came to terms with what I am. Once I did, it was easier to move on than I thought it would be. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't be sorry for something you had no control over, trust me , learned that lesson the hard way. If you're still sorry, I forgive you and your freakishly noble mindset." Nico said. He watched Percy as he understood what Nico said. When it seemed like he was done, Percy let out a breath Nico didn't know he was holding and laughed a quick and hardy laugh.

"Awesome. I didn't really know how this conversation was going to go, but I'm glad it went in this direction. That's really good to hear, man. As cool as you are, I don't exactly swing that way, plus I've got Annabeth and she's pretty much everything to me. Plus you're like the annoying little brother I've always wanted and I would've hated for that to change." Percy said. Him and Nico shared a laugh at that

"Good, cause you're the closest thing to an older brother I have, well there's Jason too but he's more up-tight than you are." Nico admitted

"Really? You see me as that?" Percy asked, surprise filling his tone.

"Yeah. To be honest, yeah. I do see you as an older brother, so please don't go jumping into any defunct mechanical giants or anything like that soon." Nico said trying to make light of it, but really being serious. Nico didn't want Percy to get killed over something stupid, or at all really.

Percy seemed to get the meaning behind it because his face changed to a kinder, more soothing look.

"You got it, little bro." Percy said.

After a quick bro hug, Percy was off to his and Annabeth's room. Nico just sat there, alone for a while as he took in the night. 'Tomorrow's the day' he thought to himself. 'Tomorrow we go off to deliver the _Athena Parthenos_'. He thought. He then reflected back on his last few days, how he changed as a person, how he grew as a demi-god, how he forged a bond with his father and how he came to see the rest of the crew as actual friends rather than just acquaintances. Especially Piper. She really pulled him out of a dark place and Nico will be forever grateful to her. He realized that he was starting to look up to her in the same way he looked up to Percy. He didn't know how he felt about that because he already lost a big sister, he didn't know what he would do if he lost another. He knew that Jason would protect her so that thought calmed him but he knew that if the time came, Nico would defend Piper with his life.

After a few more minutes of contemplation, Nico decided to head to bed. As he made his way too his room, he heard the sound of metal clanging. He went out to the deck to see what the noise was and was met with the sight of Reyna going through sword drills and attacking dummies. He watched her in awe as she struck the dummy with such accuracy and grace that, from Nico's standpoint, she looked like a jaguar striking down its prey. Nico remarked that it hauntingly beautiful as the elegantly took the head of the dummy with one swing of her sword.

"Very impressive." He couldn't help but comment.

Reyna spun around in surprise and readied her sword at whatever enemy had dared to approach her. When she saw that it was Nico, she put away her sword.

"Thank you. However it is nowhere near as impressive as your spar with Jason the other day." she remarked.

"You saw that?" he asked and she nodded.

"Yes I did. The way you managed to keep him at bay even though you were still not fully recovered was most impressive. Jason is an excellent swordsman, one of the best I've ever seen. Only someone whose skill rivaled his, could have matched him like that. You really are a great warrior." She said while Nico had to fight hard to stop a blush from overcoming his face.

"Thanks. You really think so?" he asked.

"Don't push it. I don't like repeating myself." She said quickly.

"Right, sorry." He noted. After a few moments, he asked her something. "What are you doing out here at this time of night?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She countered.

"I am the son of Hades. Darkness is where I am most comfortable." As if to prove his point, the shadows danced around him, as if joyful that the son of their master was out there with them. "What's your excuse?" he countered. Reyna considered that before answering.

"A fair point. When I am stressed, I usually used to train back at the legion. I've been doing this most nights since I got on this ship." She admitted.

"Why are you stressed?" he asked

"Because, tomorrow we have to take the _Athena Parthenos_ half way across the world and then I'm supposed to present it to your camp. You, me and the faun also have to fend off the countless monsters that are no doubt waiting for us on our journey while the Seven go off to fight Gaia herself. This is beyond anything I could have imagined myself doing when I became Praetor. That's why I am stressed." She said, her voice rising with each worry she had listed.

Nico just stood there, processing what he had just heard. Before he could stop himself, he found himself speaking.

"Tough." Was all he said.

"Excuse me?" her voice had a dangerous edge to it.

"Tough. We're demi-gods and that means that our lives are, for the most part, shit. The majority of our lives involve fighting off creatures, that the rest of the population only know in myth. The only thing that gets us through that, are the bonds we make along the way and the strength of our own conviction. Tomorrow we travel halfway across the world, using my power let me remind you, and we are going to be fine. We have two great warriors and coach, who is a maniac with a bat. The statue emits such a strong field of magic that it will more than likely scare away most of the lesser monsters. The Seven _will _go on to defeat Gaia, and if we're lucky, we will be able to help them do that. We are all going to get through this because it's what we do." Nico finished.

Reyna looked at him she wanted to run him through, right then and there. Nico braced himself as she approached him, prepared to defend himself if need be. But what she did surprised him. She hugged him. Full out hugged him. Before he could even return the hug, she let go.

"Thank you. I really needed to hear that. My mind has been causing me nothing but trouble and it was all unnecessary. I guess I just needed a pep-talk, or whatever it was you said because it certainly was not peppy." She said kindly.

Nico was having trouble forming coherent thought so he couldn't answer Reyna right away. When he got himself together, it took a great deal of strength for him to even say "You're welcome" without his voice quivering like a frightened child. Reyna nodded to him before she set off to her room, leaving Nico by himself. He didn't stay out for long before he went back to his room. When he got to his bed, he found that he couldn't fall asleep as fast as he usually did, but when he finally did, Nico di Angelo fell asleep with a smile on his face for the second night in a row.


End file.
